The entrance corridor overlay district is intended to implement the comprehensive plan goal of protecting the County's natural, scenic and historic, architectural and cultural resources including preservation of natural and scenic resources as the same may serve this purpose; to ensure a quality of development compatible with these resources through architectural control of development; to stabilize and improve property values; to protect and enhance the County's attractiveness to tourists and other visitors; to sustain and enhance the economic benefits accruing to the County from tourism; to support and stimulate complimentary development appropriate to the prominence afforded properties deemed to be of historic, architectural or cultural significance, all of the foregoing to be balanced with the economic realities of development, and being deemed to advance and promote the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the Culpeper County and visitors thereto.

(Ord. of 6-6-2006(2))

The entrance corridor overlay district (hereafter referred to as EC) is created to conserve elements of the County's scenic beauty and to preserve and protect corridors:

30-2-1 Along arterial streets or highways (as designated pursuant to Title 33.1 of the Code, including section 33.1-41.1 of that title) found by the Board of Supervisors to be significant routes of tourist access to the County; or

30-2-2 To preserve historic landmarks as established by the Virginia Landmarks Commission together with any other buildings or structures within the County having an important historic, architectural or cultural interest and any historic areas within the County as defined by Section 15.2-2201 of the Code of Virginia; or

30-2-3 To preserve designated historic landmarks, buildings, structures or districts as identified in the Culpeper County Comprehensive Plan.

30-2-4 EC overlay districts may be applied over any basic zoning district and/or other overlay district. EC overlay districts are hereby established:

30-2-4.1 To the full depth of all parcels of land that are contiguous to the rights-of-way of the following EC streets in Culpeper County, or to a depth of five hundred (500) feet from the rights-of-way, whichever shall be greater, but in no case to exceed 1,500 feet, along the following EC streets in Culpeper County:

1.

U.S. Route 211

2.

Virginia State Route 229

3.

U.S. Route 522

4.

U.S. Route 15

5.

U.S. Route 29

6.

U.S. Route 15-29

7.

U.S. Route 15-29 Business (Town Corporate Limits to Route 15-29)

8.

Virginia State Route 3

9.

Secondary Route 615 (Orange County Line to Route 522)

10.

Secondary Route 614 (Route 615 to Route 721)

11.

Secondary Route 666 (Route 15-29 to Route 15-29 Business)

12.

Virginia Route 299

(Ord. of 6-6-2006(2))

30-3-1 By Right.

The following uses shall be permitted by right in any EC overlay district:

30-3-1.1 Uses permitted by right shall include all uses permitted by right in the underlying districts except as herein otherwise provided.

30-3-2 By Special Use Permit.

The following uses shall be permitted by special use permit in any EC overlay district.

30-3-2.1 Uses permitted by special use permit shall include all uses permitted by special use permit in the underlying districts;

30-3-2.2 Outdoor storage, display and/or sales associated with permitted uses, any portion of which would be visible from an EC street; provided that review shall be limited to the intent of this section. Residential, agricultural and forestal uses shall be exempt from this provision.

(Ord. of 6-6-2006(2))

Area and bulk regulations, minimum yard and setback requirements, and height regulations shall be as provided by the underlying district, except that the following provisions and limitations shall apply to any development or portion thereof which shall be visible from a designated EC street.

30-4-1 A certificate of appropriateness is required for the following:

30-4-1.1 Except as otherwise provided in Section 30-7, no building permit shall be issued for any purpose unless and until a certificate of appropriateness has been issued in accord with Section 30-8 or Section 30-9 for improvements subject to such building permit.

30-4-1.2 Except as otherwise provided in section 30-6, for any development subject to approval under Article 20, site plans, no final site development plan shall be approved unless and until a certificate of appropriateness has been issued in accord with Section 30-8 or Section 30-9 for all building improvements shown thereon.

The certificate of appropriateness shall be binding upon the proposed development as to conditions of issuance. The certificate shall certify that the proposed development as may be modified by the conditions of issuance is consistent with the design guidelines adopted by the Board of Supervisors for the specific EC street. Signature by the zoning administrator upon the final site development plan or building permit, as the case may be, shall be deemed to constitute such certification.

In making such determination as to consistency with design guidelines, the architectural review board may specify any architectural feature as to appearance, such as, but not limited to, motif and style, color, texture and materials together with configuration, orientation and other limitations as to mass, shape, height and location of buildings and structures, location and configuration of parking areas and landscaping and buffering requirements to the extent such practices are authorized under the adopted design guidelines without regard to regulations of the underlying zoning district or regulations of Article 20 of this ordinance. However, the Architectural Review Board must balance their design decisions with the economic realities of those decisions. The Architectural Review Board may waive any of the adopted design guidelines at their discretion. Such a waiver must be justified due to cost or some other unique circumstance or hardship.

30-4-1.3 Regulations of Section 20-6-7, Screen Planting, shall apply within any EC overlay district except that:

a)

In addition to the provisions of Section 30-4-1, the architectural review board may require specific landscaping measures in issuance of a certificate of appropriateness, as the same may be related to insuring that the proposed development is consistent with the design guidelines adopted by the Board of Supervisors for the specific EC street.

Existing trees, wooded areas and natural features shall be preserved except as necessary for location of improvements as described in Section 20-6 provided that the Architectural Review Board may authorize additional activity upon finding that such activity will equally or better serve the purposes of this ordinance. Such improvements shall be located so as to maximize the use of existing features in screening such improvements from EC streets to the extent such practices are authorized under the adopted design guidelines.

b)

The certificate of appropriateness shall indicate the existing features to be preserved pursuant to the preceding paragraph; the limits of grading or other earth disturbance; the location and type of protective fencing, and grade changes requiring tree wells or tree walls.

c)

No grading or other earth disturbing activity (including trenching or tunneling), except as necessary for the construction of tree wells or tree walls, shall occur within the drip line of any trees or wooded areas nor intrude upon any other existing features designated in the certificate of appropriateness for preservation.

d)

Areas designated on approved plans for preservation of existing features shall be clearly and visibly delineated on the site prior to commencement of any grading or other earth-disturbing activity (including trenching or tunneling) and no such disturbing activity or grading or movement of heavy equipment shall occur within such area. The visible delineation of all such existing features shall be maintained until the completion of development of the site.

(Ord. of 6-6-2006(2))

Signage shall be governed in part by the provisions of Article 11, particularly, as they pertain to allowable total square footage. Signage in EC overlay districts shall be subject to the provisions of Section 30-4-1 of this Article.

(Ord. of 6-6-2006(2))

30-6-1 Any use, activity, lot or structure subject to the provisions of the EC overlay district that does not conform to the provisions of the EC overlay district shall be subject to Article 12, non-conforming buildings and uses, of this ordinance.

30-6-2 An owner may repair and maintain a nonconforming structure or a structure occupied or used by a nonconforming use as provided in Article 12 of this ordinance, upon determination by the zoning administrator that such repair or maintenance would not be contrary to the intent and purposes of this Section 30-6.

(Ord. of 6-6-2006(2))

30-7-1 The provisions of Section 30-4-1 notwithstanding, no certificate of appropriateness shall be required for the following activities.

30-7-1.1 Interior alterations to a building or structure having no effect on exterior appearance of the building or structure.

30-7-1.2 Construction of ramps and other modifications to serve the disabled.

30-7-1.3 The repair and maintenance of structures authorized pursuant to Section 30-6-2.

30-7-1.4 Main and accessory residential, forestal and agricultural buildings where no site plan is required for the work subject to the building permit.

30-7-1.5 General maintenance where no substantial change in design or material is proposed.

30-7-1.6 Additions or modifications to a building where no substantial change in design or material is proposed as determined by the Zoning Administrator.

30-7-2 Development within village centers as identified in the Culpeper County Comprehensive Plan may, as an alternative to the provisions of Section 30-4-1, obtain a certificate of appropriateness for a specific and detailed set of design guidelines for the overall development. Once such guidelines have been approved and received a certificate of appropriateness, individual site plans and structures would be exempt from individual reviews by the Architectural Review Board. In such instances, an expiration may be placed on the certificate of appropriateness, such that the guidelines could be revisited after an established period of time.

(Ord. of 6-6-2006(2))

This Article shall be administered by the Zoning Administrator and by an Architectural Review Board created and appointed by the Board of Supervisors of Culpeper County pursuant to Article 30A, Architectural Review Board, of this ordinance.

The Architectural Review Board shall be responsible for issuance of certificates of appropriateness as required by this article. In some instances as identified herein, the Zoning Administrator may issue certificates of appropriateness. Application for a certificate of appropriateness together with a fee as may be set from time to time by the Board of Supervisors shall be filed by the owner or contract purchaser of the subject property with the Zoning Administrator. Materials submitted with the application or on subsequent request by the architectural review board shall include all plans, maps, studies and reports which may be reasonably required to make the determinations called for in the particular case, with sufficient copies for necessary referrals and records. The Zoning Administrator shall forward the application together with all accompanying materials to the Architectural Review Board within five (5) calendar days of the date of application.

Notice of application submittal shall be sent by first class mail to each member of the Planning Commission, Board of Supervisors, and the applicant. No certificate of appropriateness shall be issued within ten (10) calendar days of the date of mailing of such notice. The notice shall state the type of use proposed, specific location of development, including magisterial district, appropriate County office where the application may be reviewed and date of the Architectural Review Board meeting.

Upon receipt of an application, the Architectural Review Board shall schedule the same for consideration and shall cause such notice to be sent as herein above required. The Architectural Review Board shall confer with the applicant and shall approve or disapprove such application and, if approved, shall issue a certificate of appropriateness therefore, with or without conditions together with such modifications as deemed necessary to insure compliance with this section. It shall be permissible for an application for a certificate of appropriateness and a site plan application to be filed concurrently. In such instances, the Architectural Review Board must meet prior to the scheduled public hearing for the site plan. Failure of the Architectural Review Board to approve or disapprove such application within sixty (60) days from the date of application shall be deemed to constitute approval of the application. In any instance where action is delayed at the request of the applicant, the sixty-day time period shall be automatically extended by an amount equal to the requested delay.

Nothing contained in this article, entrance corridor overlay district — EC, shall be deemed to compromise, limit, or otherwise impair the Commission in its exercise of site plan review as set forth in Article 20, site plans, of this ordinance. It is the express intent of the Board of Supervisors that matters related to public health and safety as may be defined by the Commission shall prevail over issues of aesthetics as may be defined by the Architectural Review Board. Therefore, the Commission in its review of any site plan may modify, vary or waive any requirement of the certificate of appropriateness as issued by the Architectural Review Board upon finding that such action would better serve the public health or safety, or upon finding that the costs associated with certain requirements are unreasonable.

30-8-1 Applications made to the Architectural Review Board may be made in three different formats.

30-8-1.1 Preliminary Site Plan Review.

This type of submission contains the minimum amount of information necessary for the Architectural Review Board to make a determination. Following review of a preliminary site plan, a Certificate of Appropriateness may be issued by the Zoning Administrator for projects where no more detailed review is needed in the opinion of the Architectural Review Board Zoning Administrator. The preliminary review process may also be utilized by the applicant to obtain feedback on a project prior to submitting a final site plan. This type of review shall be adequate for smaller projects and for projects in which site plan approval is administrative. Any application can be referred to the Architectural Review Board at the discretion of the Zoning Administrator.

30-8-1.2 Final Site Plan Review.

This type of submission contains the full range of information needed for the Architectural Review Board to make a final determination regarding a Certificate of Appropriateness. Most development proposals in the EC district shall be subject to this type of review.

30-8-1.3 Sign Review.

This type of submission contains only enough information needed for the Architectural Review Board Zoning Administrator to make a final determination regarding a Certificate of Appropriateness for signs.

(Ord. of 6-6-2006(2))

The Board of Supervisors reserves unto itself the right to review all decisions of the architectural review board made in the administration of this article that, in its discretion, it shall deem necessary to the proper administration hereof.

Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Architectural Review Board in the administration of this section may demand a review of the application by the Board of Supervisors. Such demand shall be made by filing a request therefore in writing with the clerk of the Board of Supervisors within ten (10) calendar days of the date of such decision. Prior to the Board consideration, the Planning Commission shall review the grievance and make a recommendation. The Board of Supervisors may affirm, reverse or modify, in whole or in part, the decision of the Architectural Review Board. In so doing, the Board of Supervisors shall give due consideration to the recommendation of the Architectural Review Board and the Planning Commission together with such other evidence as it deems necessary for a proper review of the application.

Any person or persons jointly or severally aggrieved by any decision of the Board of Supervisors may appeal such decision to the circuit court of the County for review by filing a petition at law, setting forth the alleged illegality of the action of the Board of Supervisors, provided such petition is filed within thirty (30) days after the final decision is rendered by the Board of Supervisors.

For the purposes of this section, the term "person aggrieved" shall be limited to the applicant, the Architectural Review Board or any member thereof, the Commission or any member thereof, the agent, the Zoning Administrator, the County Administrator, the Board of Supervisors or any member thereof.

(Ord. of 6-6-2006(2))